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Comment No. (Score 3, Insightful) 284

The problem with fake news isn't a moderation problem. People engage with it because it confirms already-held views, or serves as a contrast to them ("look at what X is saying! Aren't they crazy?"). Websites host it because it delivers numbers, and numbers mean advertising revenue. People produce it because they have incentives, whether monetary or ideological. Those in positions of power either benefit or simply don't care.

At every level there is reason for the fake news machine to continue. You can't simply hope to moderate it away.

Slashdot's front page fares a little better because it's subject-focussed with a smaller user base, but the site has its own biases and blind spots despite its moderation system. It and its discussions are not inherently closer to some platonic truth than another site. Sure, browsing at 4 or 5 makes for less aggravating reading, but people still get it wrong in good faith, argue in bad faith, and always, everywhere, someone's going to be the dumbest boy alive.

Comment It's a problem. (Score 1) 38

We understand that bad actors are going to appear occasionally, but does the general public? And it's not just one or two apps popping up and getting squashed from time to time, it's the reveal that dozens- that we know about- have been running under Apple's radar.

Regardless of how you feel about the walled garden ecosystem, we can agree that the absolute foundation of it is trust. Users trust Apple to do the heavy lifting of reviewing and vetting applications, to provide security and ease-of-use, in exchange for freedom. If that trust is breached, what good is sticking around? If I can't trust Apple in its own app store, why should I trust it with iCloud, or Keychain, or any of its other services?

Services, it must be pointed out, that are both Apple's fastest-growing money maker, and vital to keeping the iDevice experience "sticky".

I remember hearing that after a bad experience with a car consumers would avoid and mistrust that manufacturer for, on average, ten years. I doubt electronics are that drastic, but losing customers' trust for years is something Apple can't afford, especially since it's worked hard to differentiate itself from the other big five on issues of privacy and trust.

So yeah, it's a problem.

Comment Re:Why he tweeted becomes clear (Score 1) 216

It was actually a way to convey information to a potential investor that protects him from SEC action.

Musk's tweet was at 11:18pm (Eastern Standard), August 7.

If no written confirmation from his funder exists prior to that, he's lying to investors and guilty of fraud. Tesla going private is smart. This move was so far away from smart that SpaceX could use it as a new means of space travel.

Comment Re:3 Top Reasons (Score 3, Interesting) 249

1: They keep pissing off their established fan bases with needless changes, reboots, and retcons to appease the Butthurt Brigade.

Continuity is a mess at the best of times, crossovers universally suck, and having to understand a byzantine layer of backstory doesn't draw in new readers. Ignoring that constant growing readership (which is what the big two's shareholders are undoubtedly demanding) is a fool's game, established fanbases die. Either literally or they drift off. New readers are a necessity to keep comics alive, never mind thriving. The movies and TV shows are immensely popular, but not turning into monthly readers despite people loving the characters.

Endless crises on infinite earths are eyerolling and infuriating, I totally agree. Trying to manage literally decades of continuity is also untenable. Long-term serialization is both awesome and slowly rotting away comics' strongest characters. I doubt there's a good solution available at all.

2: Comics are just too freakin' expensive per issue for the amount and quality of content you get.

Agreed. Personally I think getting rid of Diamond would help. Not directly or immediately, but ditching that fucking cancerous system would help out retailers and make publishers more immediately responsible to their customers which in turn would, at least, bring back realistic capitalist supply-and-demand. That's just a pet wish of mine, though.

3: The barrier to entry is so low now that previously ignored but still decent talent can punch their own meal ticket. Unfortunately, that allows for a lot more total and utter shit to flood the pool. But that is less important than the ability to go it your own.

Is this a strike against it? You honestly seem to be arguing both ways here. Lower barrier to entry means more opportunities for new blood. Yeah, there'll be dreck, but let's not pretend that lots of established players aren't shit or that there's no absolutely exquisite new talent on the scene. New writers and artists mean new stories and new readers. All that matters then is getting the best stories into everybody's hands.

Comment Re:Am I missing something? (Score 2) 308

Is YouTube forcing these people to put up content?

Not "literal gun to the head" forcing them to post content, but YouTube's algorithms mean that if a channel isn't frequently and regularly uploading it's less likely to be pushed in front of users. That means less engagement (LIKE COMMENT AND SUBSCRIBE) and less money. So YouTube gently encourages it, you could say.

In what way is YouTube anything but a way for these people to post something?

YouTube pays them.

If this is too stressful for them, perhaps they should find a job at McDonald's.

It's incredibly hard to constantly be interesting, avoid repetition, and connect with people. All on a regular schedule, typically with more behind-the-scenes production than you'd expect. While sometimes "find another job" isn't unreasonable, acting like it's not a stressful, challenging career is ridiculous. YouTube isn't helping, thanks to its dedication to questionable algorithms, vague and inconsistent moderation, and constantly-changing rules for actually getting paid for your work.

Comment Re:Anyone care to post Tesla's side of the story? (Score 1) 317

The Freemont plant has ten thousand workers. How many positions are there at the plant? Does Musk understand them all? Has he been trained and signed off on all of them? Or does he have to be trained and constantly supervised to safely fill the position? Are there no other workers who know how to work that position already? Does nobody need the overtime? Is nobody waiting to be trained/promoted to that position? How does stepping in to fill the personnel slot actually prevent the same incident from happening again?

Bosses should be willing to get their hands dirty when needed. Good bosses understand that getting their hands dirty isn't always the best way they can help.

Comment Re:Anyone care to post Tesla's side of the story? (Score 1) 317

1. That "absolute" safety may be impossible doesn't change the fact that the only acceptable target is zero.

2. There are dollar trade-offs for implementing safety systems, for sure. There are dollar trade-offs for injuries, too. There are production trade-offs for injuries. There are morale trade-offs for injuries. There are reputation trade-offs for injuries. There are many, many trade-offs for putting your bottom line above your workers.

Comment Re:Anyone care to post Tesla's side of the story? (Score 3, Insightful) 317

On the other hand, UAW doesn't bother to mention in their overwork claims that during crunch times Musk has been known to sleep in a sleeping bag at the factory, and has pledged (and at least so far, upheld) to work on any line where any employee gets injured.

Who cares?

Who cares if Musk chooses to sleep in the factory? That doesn't mean the workers aren't being overworked. Musk owns Tesla and is free to set any standard for himself he likes, the workers don't and can't.

Who cares if Musk takes over on the factory line for an injured worker? 1. It's not his job, he shouldn't be there. Solidarity is nice, but he's got to run the company. 2. There. Should. Not. Be. Injuries. On. The. Line. Full stop. No ifs, ands, or buts. The only acceptable target is zero, and the boss stepping in to fill a spot doesn't achieve that.

Your arguments aren't refutations of UAW's points. They highlight them.

Comment Maybe you should RTFA. (Score 3, Informative) 284

Because then you wouldn't have been saying things like:

If you've figured out AI, you go general as soon as you can, because you get everything in one box.

...when Kelly dismisses that the concept of general-purpose AI because we look at intelligence through an anthropocentric lens. "General purpose" actually isn't.

Comment Re:Lack of torrents is a bad sign (Score 1) 84

One of the rewards was DRM-free, downloadable copies of the new episodes. Netflix kept this promise even after they picked up the show, and I can download copies at any time. So availability is not an issue.

The thing is that Joel has been very clear about the show's future: despite the kickstarter's success, what will ultimately determine if there'll be a season 12 is how many people watch it on Netflix. And despite MSTies passion for sharing the tapes, I think they're just trusting Joel and going along with his wishes (for now, anyway) because they want to see the show stick around.

Sometimes, heartfelt pleas work!

Or maybe I'm just being sappy.

Comment Re:MST3K with production values is weird. (Score 1) 84

On the newest series, the biggest shock was not the new host, but when Gypsy spoke. I don't know if that voice changed happened earlier in the older series (I never watched the SyFy run), but when I did stop watching, Gypsy was still using that weird falsetto.

That's new to this season. They brought in a new actor, Rebecca Hanson, to do the voice (and also be "Synthia" in the mads segments). I'm with you: it's very, very strange at first, especially with the new "from the ceiling" design. Hopefully we'll see more of the new Gypsy and they'll make the most of it.

Also you should dig into the SyFy episodes. Seasons 8-10 have a ridiculous number of gems.

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